Complex relationship between health and moderate alcohol use

Citation

Burton R & Sheron N (2022) Complex relationship between health and moderate alcohol use. The Lancet, 400 (10347), pp. 141-143. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736%2822%2901288-0

Abstract
First paragraph: In The Lancet, the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2020 Alcohol Collaborators provide a further study to systematically determine thresholds for low-risk alcohol consumption while considering background rates of disease. Overall, the authors estimated the amount of alcohol that minimises health risks to be between 0 (95% uncertainty interval 0–0) and 1·87 (0·50–3·30) standard drinks per day. Levels of zero, or very close to zero, were observed among individuals aged 15–39 years (ranging from 0 to 0·603 standard drinks per day), but higher levels were reported for individuals aged 40 years and older (ranging from 0·114 to 1·87 standard drinks per day). These findings seemingly contradict a previous GBD estimate published in The Lancet, which emphasised that any alcohol use, regardless of amount, leads to health loss across populations.

Journal
The Lancet: Volume 400, Issue 10347